Chapter Summaries

Qing Mo explained how newspapers could shape public opinion and generate revenue, then outlined printing and papermaking methods to make them practical. He also proposed reforms to the imperial examinations that would open official careers to humble-born scholars and weaken the aristocratic clans, leaving Li Shimin eager to put his plans into action.

• Qing Mo proposed using newspaper reports on court affairs, local news, and future plans to inform the people and build support for the Tang court.
• Qing Mo suggested selling a limited number of newspaper advertising spaces to merchants, and Li Shimin and Li Chengqian praised the plan.
• Qing Mo proposed publishing submitted poetry and prose, and he revealed that movable-type printing and improved papermaking could reduce the cost of producing newspapers.
• Li Chengqian asked how the court could gain more from overseas fiefs, and Qing Mo advised Li Shimin to reclaim paths to advancement from the aristocratic houses.
• Qing Mo recommended anonymous and transcribed examination papers, staged exams, and new subjects such as mathematics, agriculture, and engineering to broaden access to official posts.
• Qing Mo advised delaying the examination reforms until the aristocratic clans pursued overseas gains, and Li Shimin ordered his sons to record the proposals and welcomed the strategy.

Qing Mo taught Li Chengqian and the others how to turn cotton into warm clothing and explained its value for civilians and soldiers. After Li Shimin praised cotton’s benefits, Qing Mo asked for the emperor’s treasured Preface to the Orchid Pavilion and left with Li Shimin reluctantly agreeing to give it to him.

• Qing Mo had Li Chengqian, Li Tai, Li Ke, and the others harvest cotton, promising they could use it to benefit the people and make their names in history.
• Qing Mo taught the group how to process cotton, and the estate’s women made the Tang Dynasty’s first cotton-padded garment, which Li Chengqian and Li Tai tried on.
• Qing Mo explained that cotton could make warm clothes and quilts as well as absorbent battlefield bandages, and the group brought the discovery to Li Shimin.
• Li Shimin tried on a cotton-padded garment and praised cotton’s benefits, then promised Qing Mo a reward.
• Qing Mo demanded the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, and after initially denying he possessed it, Li Shimin reluctantly agreed to give him the treasured work.

Qing Mo obtained the original Preface to the Orchid Pavilion from Li Shimin and planned to introduce pinyin and a dictionary project in the Tang Dynasty. Back at his residence, He Xi cooked an extremely nourishing soup, and she and Mo Yanyu joined Qing Mo for an intimate evening at the hot spring.

• Qing Mo showed Mo Yanyu the original Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, which he had persuaded Li Shimin to give him.
• Qing Mo asked Mo Yanyu to prepare a pinyin alphabet chart and revealed his plan to have scholars compile a Zhenguan-era dictionary.
• Qing Mo explained that he would demonstrate pinyin's benefits to Li Chengqian and other court scholars, prompting competition for the dictionary project.
• Mo Yanyu told Qing Mo that He Xi was cooking soup with potent ingredients, including a thousand-year-old ginseng root.
• Qing Mo found He Xi cooking, teased her about the soup, and went with her and Mo Yanyu to the kitchen.
• After nightfall, Qing Mo relaxed in the residence's hot spring as Mo Yanyu and He Xi massaged him, and He Xi urged him to let her attend to him.

Qing Mo demonstrated pinyin to Li Shimin and the court, proving that students could use it to read unfamiliar characters and proposing a dictionary to spread literacy and Tang culture. He explained that its compiler could earn the title of “Sage Teacher,” leaving the court scholars arguing over who would lead the work.

• Qing Mo presented a pinyin chart in the Hall of the Supreme Ultimate and explained how its symbols could help people pronounce familiar and uncommon characters.
• Li Shimin and the court scholars learned the symbols while waiting for Zhangsun Chong, Cheng Chumo, and the other youths Qing Mo had taught to arrive.
• Yu Shinan and other scholars wrote obscure characters, and Zhangsun Chong and the youths read them correctly using Qing Mo’s pinyin annotations.
• Zheng Ping'an displayed new, durable white paper, and Li Shimin pocketed Qing Mo’s instructions for its papermaking method as the Five Great Clans and Seven Prominent Families watched greedily.
• Qing Mo proposed compiling a dictionary and described how its compiler could teach readers across the realm and beyond, earning the stature of a “Sage Teacher.”
• Yan Shigu knelt to pledge his support, but Kong Yingda and Yu Shinan disputed that Qing Mo had assigned him the work, and Yan Shigu challenged them to a fight.

Qing Mo agreed with Li Shimin to name the dictionary the Zhenguan Dictionary, then appointed Wei Zheng to lead a separate newspaper office. To settle who would compile the dictionary, Qing Mo proposed letting students anonymously choose the best essay written by the competing scholars.

• Li Shimin suggested naming the work the Zhenguan Dictionary, and Qing Mo accepted the name.
• Wei Zheng sought a role in compiling the dictionary, but Qing Mo instead proposed making him the first editor-in-chief of the Tang Dynasty Newspaper Office.
• Qing Mo explained the newspaper plan to Wei Zheng privately, and Wei Zheng agreed to try the role.
• Scholars and officials competed to recommend themselves as chief editor of the Zhenguan Dictionary, leaving Li Shimin unable to choose among them.
• Qing Mo proposed that the scholars write essays encouraging students, then have a thousand Chang'an students vote anonymously to select the chief editor.

Qing Mo established a public student vote to choose the chief editor of the Zhenguan Dictionary, then set plans in motion to launch a newspaper in Chang'an. The students cast their ballots, and the chapter ended as Li Junxian prepared to reveal which essay had won.

• Li Shimin approved Qing Mo's proposal for students to vote openly on the dictionary's chief editor, and Qing Mo named the honeycomb coal stove the Ping'an Stove after Zheng Ping'an.
• Qing Mo suggested the new papermaking method could be named after Li Shimin or others, prompting officials and the princes to compete for the naming rights.
• Qing Mo directed Li Chengqian and Zhao Xinmin to trial-distribute a newspaper in Chang'an and asked Zheng Ping'an to approach merchants about advertising.
• Li Shimin brought one thousand randomly selected students to inspect anonymous essays and vote for the Zhenguan Dictionary's chief editor.
• Li Junxian counted the ballots twice and reported that the leading essay had received 417 votes, but had not yet announced its author.

Yu Shinan became chief editor of the Zhenguan Dictionary, and Li Chengqian’s newspaper quickly caught Chang’an’s attention. Qing Mo discussed the newspaper’s future with the princes before Li Shimin and his ministers arrived to read his unpublished story, leaving them eager when he offered to show them a later-generation film about Li Shimin.

• Li Shimin announced that Yu Shinan had been chosen by the students as chief editor of the Zhenguan Dictionary, and Yu Shinan vowed to fulfill the trust placed in him.
• Several days later, newsboys sold the newspaper across Chang’an, where the headline about Yu Shinan’s appointment drew crowds and gave poor students hope for wider access to knowledge.
• Li Tai read Qing Mo’s draft for the next installment of Chronicle of the Mortal Path, while Qing Mo told Li Chengqian that the newspaper needed to improve its content and variety over time.
• Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Zhangsun Wuji visited Qing Mo and eagerly read the draft, but learned that the continuation was still only in Qing Mo’s head.
• Qing Mo teased Li Shimin and his ministers for neglecting their duties to seek a story update, then offered to show them a later-generation film about Li Shimin.

After learning that later generations had depicted him as a humiliated captive, Li Shimin ordered preparations for a campaign against the peninsula’s three kingdoms. Qing Mo unveiled a new weapon to aid the Tang army, leaving Li Shimin and his officials stunned by its first demonstration.

• Qing Mo explained that the Great Cold Nation had made shadow-puppet plays showing Li Shimin defeated by Goguryeo, and Li Shimin vowed to destroy the three kingdoms of the peninsula.
• Qing Mo told Li Shimin that his historical campaigns against Goguryeo had weakened it but ended without a decisive victory, after which Li Shimin ordered preparations for a new expedition.
• Li Chengqian urged Li Shimin to wipe out the peninsula kingdoms and erase their records, while Li Shimin resolved to lead the campaign himself.
• Qing Mo proposed introducing a new weapon and arranged to show it to Li Shimin and the officials at the training grounds three days later.
• Qing Mo lit the fuse of a ceramic explosive jar and threw it at armored straw targets, startling Li Shimin and frightening several officials to the ground.

Qing Mo demonstrated how a ceramic bomb could devastate armored straw dummies and explained its use of gunpowder and iron fragments to Li Shimin and his court. Pressed to reveal more, he described explosive packs, cannons, and firearms, leaving the Tang rulers eager to obtain these weapons.

• A gunpowder explosion temporarily deafened Li Shimin and the officials, and Qing Mo explained that their hearing soon recovered.
• Qing Mo identified the ceramic jar as a bomb, and Li Shimin inspected its damage and learned that iron fragments could be packed inside to wound enemies.
• Li Shimin eagerly praised the bomb as a weapon for Tang armies, while Qing Mo called it a basic and limited use of gunpowder.
• Li Ke asked about more advanced gunpowder weapons, and Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin, and Yuchi Gong surrounded Qing Mo until he agreed to explain.
• Qing Mo described explosive packs, cannons, and firearms, claiming they could demolish city walls, strike enemies at range, and drive cavalry from warfare.

Qing Mo explained how firearms could complement cavalry and gave Li Shimin a secret booklet containing weapons designs and production guidance. After the court tested ceramic bombs, Qing Mo privately warned Zhangsun Wuji against marrying his son to a princess descended from Zhangsun Wuji’s sister, the Empress, and urged him to persuade the emperor to end close-kin marriages.

• Qing Mo reassured Li Shimin and Li Jing that cavalry remained useful alongside firearms and described how the two forces could work together.
• Qing Mo handed Li Shimin a booklet with weapon blueprints, manufacturing and training instructions, and security measures.
• Qing Mo invited the officials to test ceramic bombs behind a cement wall, and Cheng Yaojin, other ministers, generals, and Li Shimin took turns throwing them.
• Qing Mo privately asked Zhangsun Wuji about his proposal for his son Chong'er to marry Princess Changle and advised him not to pursue marriages to princesses descended from the Empress.
• Qing Mo explained the risks of close-kin marriage and urged Zhangsun Wuji to raise the issue with Li Shimin, and Zhangsun Wuji agreed to do so.

As snow fell in Chang'an, Qing Mo inspected the completed greenhouse and discussed plans to use wool trade and cultural influence to weaken and assimilate the grassland peoples. He assigned Zheng Ping'an to organize the wool plan and report it to Chenggan, Li Shimin, and the ministers, leaving Zheng Ping'an eager to earn its chief credit.

• Qing Mo arranged a hot-pot feast and extra wages for the craftsmen who completed Zheng Ping'an's greenhouse.
• Qing Mo discussed Zheng Ping'an's growing family and told him Zhao Xinmin might accompany a future campaign as a war correspondent, not fight on the battlefield.
• Qing Mo offered Zheng Ping'an a chance to earn merit by developing a wool-products trade designed to shift grassland peoples from warfare toward sheep raising and commerce.
• Qing Mo explained that prosperity, cultural education, and the spread of Han language and customs could gradually assimilate the grasslands.
• Qing Mo told Zheng Ping'an to establish a workshop, record the plan, present it to Chenggan and Li Shimin, and later manage the connections; Zheng Ping'an accepted eagerly.

Li Shimin and his ministers adopted Qing Mo’s “Sheep Eat Men” plan as a secret, long-term national policy, then gathered at the Firearms Directorate to test the newly completed weapons. The cannon and explosive shells thrilled the court, while Qing Mo remained composed as Li Shimin and the ministers took turns firing them.

• Li Shimin praised Qing Mo’s “Sheep Eat Men” plan, and Li Chengqian explained how Zheng Ping'an had delivered it to the palace.
• Li Shimin made the plan a century-long national policy, assigned ministers to carry it out, and ordered preparations to begin without disrupting next year’s campaign.
• Li Junxian reported that the Firearms Directorate had completed cannons, firearms, and explosive packs, so Li Shimin summoned Qing Mo to see them.
• Qing Mo left breakfast with Mo Yanyu and He Xi and brought mutton soup dumplings to Li Junxian on the way to the Firearms Directorate.
• Qing Mo and Li Shimin watched the Red-Clad Cannon fire solid shot and explosive shells, impressing the assembled court.
• Li Shimin let the ministers take turns firing the cannon.

Qing Mo demonstrated the flintlock’s power to Li Shimin, who ordered mass production and soldier training before his next year’s expedition. After securing rewards for the Firearms Directorate’s craftsmen, Qing Mo took Li Chengqian to seek out the young Xue Rengui for the coming campaign against Goguryeo.

• Qing Mo demonstrated a flintlock that pierced an armored straw dummy, and Li Shimin ordered at least one hundred cannons and five thousand firearms before his expedition next year.
• Li Shimin missed twice when testing the flintlock himself, then hit the target on his third shot as the ministers praised him.
• Qing Mo explained that detachable spearheads or bayonets could let soldiers use flintlocks in close combat as well as at range.
• Qing Mo asked Li Shimin to reward the Firearms Directorate’s craftsmen, and Li Shimin assigned Li Chengqian to report their merits and grant the greatest contributor the rank of County Baron.
• Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong came to Qing Mo’s residence seeking access to the new weapons, but He Xi told Steward Fortune to turn them away and bill them for any damage.
• Qing Mo took Li Chengqian to find Xue Rengui, intending to recruit the young general for the campaign against Goguryeo.

Qing Mo and Li Chengqian recruited Xue Rengui and brought him and his mother to Chang’an, then discovered Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong had wrecked the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence. Qing Mo proposed creating a separate firearms battalion, and Li Shimin agreed to command it temporarily before his campaign against the three peninsula kingdoms.

• Xue Rengui pledged his loyalty to Li Chengqian and Qing Mo, and they promised to arrange his military service and care for his mother.
• Xue Rengui and Madam Xue packed their belongings, and Qing Mo transported them to Chang’an and settled them in a courtyard.
• Qing Mo and Li Chengqian returned to find the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence’s main hall wrecked; Fortune explained that Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong had fought there.
• Li Chengqian reported the damage to Li Shimin, who agreed that Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong should pay for the broken furnishings.
• Qing Mo advised Li Shimin to form an independent firearms battalion rather than distribute weapons among the armies.
• Li Shimin agreed to serve as the battalion’s temporary commander and appoint squad leaders to oversee its daily training.

Li Shimin prepared to lead a campaign against the three kingdoms of the peninsula, leaving Li Chengqian to oversee the realm with Li Tai and Li Ke assisting him. After Zhao Xinmin said farewell to his family and friends, Li Shimin and Qing Mo led the army out of Chang'an.

• Li Shimin instructed Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Ke to manage court affairs during his absence and stressed that Li Chengqian must continue the sheep-eat-men plan.
• Li Chengqian joked that he was already the emperor, while Li Tai and Li Ke teased him, provoking Li Shimin before the brothers left together for a massage and sauna.
• Zhao Xinmin gathered with his family, Li Shande, and Zheng Ping'an for a farewell meal before accompanying the army as a war correspondent.
• Zhao Xinmin promised to stay near Qing Mo, record the campaign, and return safely, while his friends agreed to look after his family.
• Li Shimin and Qing Mo rode at the head of the army as they departed Chang'an, cheered by the citizens.

Li Shimin’s Tang army attacked Jian'an City with its cannons and captured it in half a day. As the troops prepared to hunt down the remaining Goguryeo defenders, Li Shimin celebrated the campaign’s swift first victory.

• Qing Mo told Zhao Xinmin that the Tang army would soon conquer the Three Peninsula Kingdoms, and Zhao Xinmin agreed to record the campaign.
• After Jian'an City's commander compared the Tang army to Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Shimin ordered the Divine Might Army to aim its cannons at the city.
• Qing Mo suggested playing “Prince of Qin Breaks the Formation” to raise morale, and Li Shimin ordered Cheng Yaojin to preserve and circulate the score.
• Yuchi Gong commanded more than a hundred cannons to bombard Jian'an City, killing its commander and shattering the defenders’ morale.
• Li Shimin ordered the Tang army to storm Jian'an City, and a messenger reported that the troops had seized the walls and breached the gates within half a day.
• Li Shimin ordered his soldiers to kill every enemy soldier in the city and let none escape.

After the Tang army captured Jian'an City with its cannons, Li Shimin and Qing Mo prepared to march on Gaimou City. Qing Mo promised the generals immortal wine if they conquered Goguryeo’s capital and offered a lifetime supply to whoever destroyed Japan, leaving them eager to fight Japan.

• Li Shimin entered conquered Jian'an City with the Tang army and praised Xue Rengui as Qing Mo and Li Chengqian’s renowned general.
• Qing Mo warned the generals not to rely too heavily on the cannons, while Li Shimin ordered the army to rest and advance on Gaimou City at dawn.
• Zhao Xinmin sent a report of the victory to Chang'an, then told Qing Mo that the battlefield’s casualties and terrified civilians had shaken him.
• Cheng Yaojin asked Qing Mo for jade nectar, and Qing Mo promised wine after Goguryeo’s capital fell and the Three Peninsula Kingdoms joined China.
• Li Shimin and the other generals overheard Qing Mo promise a lifetime supply of divine wine to whoever destroyed Japan, and they eagerly embraced the prospect.

Qing Mo planned to absorb the Three Peninsula Kingdoms into Tang, while Li Shimin persuaded him to spare ordinary people for labor and assimilation. The Tang army then attacked Gaimou City with cannons and explosives, breaching its gate as Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing led the assault.

• As the Tang army marched toward Gaimou City, Qing Mo described plans for railways, ports, forced labor, and integrating the conquered territory, even proposing to kill those who resisted.
• Du Ruhui objected to the bloodshed, and Li Shimin persuaded Qing Mo to keep prisoners and commoners alive for development and assimilation.
• Qing Mo ordered Yuchi Gong to attack Gaimou City, Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing to lead troops inside after the breach, and Hou Junji to block the city's rear escape route.
• Jin Zhengde ordered archers to fire, but their arrows fell short of the Tang artillery as Yuchi Gong's cannons battered the city walls.
• Yuchi Gong sent a demolition squad to blast open Gaimou City's gate, and Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing led Tang troops charging into the city.

The Tang army captured Gaimou City, and Hou Junji ambushed and captured its fleeing commander, Jin Zhengde. Li Shimin agreed to spare Jin if his intelligence proved useful, while Qing Mo secretly intended to put the stout general to work mining.

• Tang forces breached Gaimou City, and Jin Zhengde abandoned his troops and tried to escape through the rear gate.
• Hou Junji's cavalry ambushed the fugitives, captured Jin Zhengde, and took the prisoners back to the city.
• Jin begged Li Shimin for mercy and offered information about the royal city's defenses, supplies, and nearby commanders.
• Li Shimin agreed to spare Jin if his intelligence was accurate, and Qing Mo told Hou Junji not to torture him severely.
• Qing Mo told Zhao Xinmin that he wanted Jin kept fit because he could work in the mineral mines near Gaimou City.

After Tang forces captured Jian'an City with their cannons, Li Chengqian organized supplies and craftsmen in Chang'an to support the campaign. At the front, Qing Mo turned Goguryeo's surrender plea into a pretext to accuse its envoy of stealing Li Shimin's jade pendant.

• Li Chengqian read Zhao Xinmin's report that Tang forces had captured Jian'an City in half a day, and he ordered Li Ke to gather craftsmen and Li Tai to prepare military supplies.
• Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, and Zhangsun Wuji reviewed the victory report, and Li Chengqian planned to publicize it in the Tang Daily and send craftsmen and supplies toward the peninsula.
• The King of Goguryeo sent an envoy to Li Shimin's camp to offer territory, reparations, and tribute in exchange for peace.
• Li Shimin asked Qing Mo how to answer the surrender plea, and Qing Mo proposed demanding land and reimbursement for the campaign.
• Qing Mo borrowed Li Shimin's jade pendant, helped the envoy rise, and arranged for the pendant to end up in the envoy's hand; Du Ruhui then accused the envoy of stealing it.